


Falling Fast and Falling Free You Look to Find a Friend

by zombiesbecrazy



Category: DCU (Comics), Nightwing (Comics), The Flash (Comics), Titans (Comics), Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: Dick Grayson is Robin, First Meetings, Gen, Secret Identity, Wally West is The Flash, Wally isn't super confident being a hero yet, both boys just need a friend, but he's happy to be here, sidekicks running around unattended
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-30
Updated: 2019-06-30
Packaged: 2020-05-31 04:43:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,873
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19418725
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zombiesbecrazy/pseuds/zombiesbecrazy
Summary: A field trip to Gotham was pretty neat and the very best part was that he finally got to meet Robin. The Robin. Like Batman and Robin. The Boy Wonder. The Original Kid Hero. Flash may have been Wally’s idol growing up, but damn, Robin was a pretty close second.





	Falling Fast and Falling Free You Look to Find a Friend

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for DickWallyWeek 2019, but is 100% gen. This got a little longer than I wanted, but here we are!
> 
> Title from Harvest Breed by Nick Drake.

Skidding across the pavement as he rounded the corner, Wally clenched his jaw and focused on his footfalls, making sure that he was landing properly as he ran. Running was harder in Gotham than he was used to. Less wide open spaces with more quick and narrow turns with drizzle and fog that made everything just a little bit wet and while the cobblestones were cool to look, they were a twisted ankle waiting to happen as he slipped and slid around the corners. Barry said it got easier with practice and that it was good to get used to different surfaces because it would make him a better speedster long term. He just wished it was easier faster.

Wally was willing to admit that, okay, Gotham was almost exactly how he had expected it to be; a little scary and definitely darker than what he was used to in Central and Keystone (why were there fewer streetlamps here?) but why did no one ever talk about how cool it was? All he ever heard about was the violence and corruption, which it was absolutely overflowing with, but why didn’t anyone say that it was like you were suddenly plopped into a Sherlock Holmes novel as soon as you crossed the city limits? There were honest to goodness stone gargoyles lurking off so many buildings that he had lost track and Wally was half expecting to see a horse and buggy drive by at any moment, and the rolling fog just made it all the more creepy. It couldn’t be natural, could it?

This field trip to Gotham was pretty neat and the very best part was that he finally got to meet Robin. _The_ Robin. Like Batman and _Robin_. The Boy Wonder. The Original Kid Hero. Flash may have been Wally’s idol growing up, but damn, Robin was a pretty close second. Seeing videos online of a kid fighting crime? Mind blowing and all that Wally could think at the time was ‘that could be me’. Then _boom_ ; it _was_ him.

And now he was, in Gotham with Robin in the flesh. Wally had been doing his best not to fanboy over him all night and self admittedly doing a pretty terrible job of it, babbling on at just regular human comprehensible speed and unable to stop himself from alternating between bouncing on his toes and vibrating in excitement, but it could have been _way_ worse. Luckily, Robin hadn’t seemed to mind. In fact, he had babbled back at him just as much albeit fractionally slower. Wally wasn’t sure if it been because he had been just as excited to meet Kid Flash or if he was just naturally chatty, but in the end, it didn’t matter.

They had met in a park that had looked like the beginning of a horror movie with a creaky swing set and a carousel that seemed to be moving on its own volition, but had actually just turned out to be a normal, empty park on a typical Gotham night. Barry and Batman had a Justice League case to work on and had decided to let Wally and Robin patrol in Gotham on their own for a few hours, as long as they followed some pretty basic rules: they had to stay within a ten block radius of the GCPD. They weren’t allowed to jump into gun fights. If they saw Joker, Riddler, Two Face or Poison Ivy, they had to hold off and call in for back up immediately. They had to be back at the park by one. And, most importantly of all, they had to stick together. Both of them had agreed to the terms immediately and had scampered off into the night without a glance back at their mentors.

The two boys ran a few blocks before grinding to a halt at the end of an alleyway, where Robin jumped up onto a dumpster with a giggle, twirling on his heels. “This is so awesome. I’ve been begging Batman for months to let me meet you!”

Wally’s eyes widened. “Me? Are you serious? You’re freaking Robin. It’s like I met a movie star or and NFL player of something and now we get to hang out because I bought a celebrity meet and greet package.” Robin’s cheeks flushed pink hearing Wally’s words and Wally was pretty sure that his matched out of embarrassment, because wow, over talk much? He rubbed his neck and looked up the street, trying to get his bearings in the unknown streets and to just try and pretend to be just even a little bit slightly more chill than he actually was. “I just wish we had a bit more space. Ten blocks isn’t much.”

“You’d be surprised how much can go down here, even this close to the GCPD HQ.” Robin laughed and shook his head. “Don’t even think about it.”

“What?”

“Going outside the boundary. He’ll know.”

How did Robin know what he was thinking? “How on earth would he know? He and Flash are going to be digging around in a morgue and looking at files and stuff. They can’t see us.”

“He’s Batman. He always knows.” Something about Robin’s tone sounded like it wasn’t something that should be questioned, just accepted as fact. “Also, he would have told Commissioner Gordon that I’m out without him. Police will have an eye out.”

“Seriously?”

“Yeah. It’s an agreement they made. Apparently they’re worried about an 11 year old running around in the middle of the night in a dangerous city without adult supervision or something. They even have a code number for it. R272.” Robin rolled his eyes and sighed dramatically. “Cops, right? How dare they?”

“I guess that makes sense in a weird sort of way.” Wally looked around again and then waved back towards the street at the end of the alley. “So… this is your city. Where’s the action at on a night such as this?”

Robin walked to the street and looked up and down a couple of times considering the options. “Let’s head west. Shows should be letting out soon in the theatre district. Always a lot of pickpockets trying for an easy score off the tourists.”

“Lead the way.”

Where it lead was to the two of them being perched from the theatre marquees for a few hours, keeping an eye on the people below and taking turns to stop the crimes before they started, dropping down on the thieves from their ten foot high vantage points. Seven tied up muggers later, the theatre goers thinned out and then slowed to a halt.

“Now what?”

Robin jumped over the edge again and landed on the street silently and looked back up at Wally. “Wanna spar? I never get to with someone my own size.” Wally laughed because he was taller than Robin by several inches and older by a couple years, but he supposed that it was probably closer than he ever got, so Wally nodded, jumped down a little less gracefully and they headed back into an alley and circled each other slowly before getting into it. After eight rounds, Wally had found himself pinned on his back more times than he was willing to admit, though he had managed to knock Robin to the ground one with a leg sweep. He was just as good as Wally had imagined, possibly better. He was quick, for a non-speedster and his moves were amazing; flipping, dodging and dancing out of Wally’s grasp every time. Not only that, he was unpredictable which worked against Wally and his speed. He was getting his ass kicked, repeatedly.

It was fantastic.

Robin climbed off from his last pin, reaching a hand down to pull Wally back to his feet, who then brushed off his suit to get some of the grime off. Robin tilted his head before asking, “Are you fine with all this? I mean, I’m having a lot of fun but I feel like I have to be slowing you down when you must be used to zipping everywhere so quickly.”

“Are you crazy? I’m having a blast! Though now that you mention it…” Wally cracked a smile and waggled his eyebrows. “Do you want to go for a ride?”

“What?”

“Piggyback. I’ll zip us over to the other side of the limit. Give you a taste of some speed.”

“Can you carry me and run?”

“Do it all the time with civilians. Hop on.”

Robin hesitated for a moment before breaking out into a wide grin and jumped onto Wally’s back, wrapping his arms around his neck. “Onward, noble steed!” Wally squeezed the legs around his waist in warning and then took off into the night. Even though he didn’t know the city, it didn’t take long and they crossed to the far side of their zone in less than ten seconds, a little slower than Wally could go when he was solo but much faster than any non-speedster could ever hope to go.

Once stopped, Robin staggered off his back, sucking in some deep breaths and Wally sympathized; he should have thought to warn him. “You going to throw up? It’s fine. Most people do,” said Wally as he grasped Robin’s shoulders to keep him steady, as Robin kept his eyes closed as he regained his balance. He slowly shook his head, nausea hopefully passing. It was always a bit disorienting the first time, or so he was told by Iris who told him a story of being sick in Barry’s face the first time he had ran with her. A few seconds passed in silence before Robin opened his eyes again and his lips curled upwards. “That was so fast. I mean, I knew that you’re fast, because speedster, but… wow.” Robin ran his hand through is windblown hair, messing it up even more than the wind had already done before grabbing Wally by the wrist and dragging him into a side street. “Ready to get in one last bust before we go back to the park to meet back up with Batman and Flash? This section of the city is a little too congested to get a good view of what’s going on from street level so we need to get higher up. Meet you at the top?”

Wally felt his feet somehow connect more firmly into the ground, freezing him in place. It wasn’t a big deal. It wasn’t. Not at all. “I can’t run up walls yet.” He started to bounce on his feet, trying to convince himself that everything was fine and hopefully distract Robin from his idea.

It didn’t work even a little bit on both accounts. “Really? All the data says you can run more than fast enough. I know you can’t phase yet, but wall running should be easy.” Robin looked to the top of the roof and back down with a tilt of his head while he considered Wally. “You could try?”

“For the first time? Without Flash around in case I mess up bad? Not a chance.” Wally had learned that lesson the hard way the first time he had tried to run across water and had ended up in the middle of Kansas River when his steps had gotten too heavy and his feet had sank into the waves, causing him to trip and face plant onto the water surface. It was an embarrassing swim back to shore even if no one saw it. The thought of running up, screwing up and not making it... “Wait. You have data on me?”

“It’s in the computer. Batman had me memorize your file before we met up. Constant vigilance and all that.” Robin just shrugged like it was no big deal, but Wally’s brain was insisting that it was a very big deal and he paused on the balls of his feet mid bounce.

“Batman has a file on _me_?”

“Sure. Batman has a file on everyone.”

“That feels like an invasion of privacy. That’s like my medical records, dude. Doctor-patient confidentiality or something.” The whole idea was nuts. He was important enough that Batman was keeping tabs on him? Like he was a real hero? It was still a strange concept and something that just wasn’t connecting in his brain and the result was to argue about it.

“If Flash didn’t want Batman to know, he should have encrypted it better. They’ve been friends a long time. He knew that B would snoop,” said Robin as if he hadn’t dropped this bombshell that was rocking Wally’s world view. “Also, you had strep throat a lot as a kid. Like, well above the average amount of times.”

That must have kicked started Wally’s brain again because he snorted. It was something so stupid to know, and there it was, right in Batman’s super computer like it was of the upmost importance. “Flash was right. You bats are nosy.”

“We can’t all be speedy,” said Robin passively. “No running up walls then. Got it.” He looked up to the top of the building again and pulled a weird hand held device from his belt. “Want to hitch a ride with my grapple? We’ll get a better view of what’s going on from up top. It’s not as quick as you, but it’s a wild ride.”

“Nah, I’m good. You can head up and then lead the way and I’ll follow from down here.”

Robin turned his face back to Wally’s and examined it momentarily before seeming to reach a conclusion. “You’re afraid of heights,” he said. It didn’t sound like he was judging him. Just a statement of fact, like that the sky was blue or Superman was bulletproof.

“No! I…” Wally stammered, trying to avoid sounding like a chicken but even just looking up to the top of the building and thinking of being up there made him feel queasy and the roof somehow seemed to be getting farther away. He was a ground level superhero for a reason. Twenty feet up seemed to be his comfort limit and he was in no rush to push it. “Well, okay. Yeah.” It was embarrassing and he knew it was something that he was going to have to get over eventually, but he hadn’t even admitted it to Barry yet and if he noticed, he hadn’t tried to push the subject yet. Admitting it to Robin seemed easier somehow, safer, like saying it to another kid made him hope that Robin wasn’t going to treat him like he wasn’t cut out for this stuff.

Robin’s eyes were on him, inscrutable, like he was trying to figure out a puzzle and it made Wally feel a little nervous that he had misjudged the situation and regretted the fact that he wasn’t fast enough to time travel just so he could stop himself from admitting it. “Come with me.” He led Wally around the back of the building, to where there were a series of fire escapes leading up to the top of the building and started climbing. Wally stood on the ground, frozen for a few seconds as he watched Robin start to climb. The ladders were less scary than the grapple, but knowing that the end result of being up several stories was nerve wracking. He clenched his teeth, before forcing himself to climb after Robin, legs shaking a little bit as he went. When he pulled himself over the roof, Robin was standing in the middle of the rooftop garden, beside the door that led back into the building. Wally rushed over, feeling the relief the further that he got from the edge.

Robin was fiddling with his belt and didn’t look up as Wally joined him. “Is it the height or the fall that scares you?” he asked quietly.

“It’s the fall from the height and the inevitable splat at the bottom.” Robin frowned and Wally rambled on. “I know it’s stupid, being scared of heights. Especially compared to you. The great Robin probably isn’t afraid of anything. Especially not heights. You throw yourself off buildings all the time.”

Wally could see Robin’s jaw tightened as he clenched his teeth, but he said nothing, and Wally took the silence as a chance to look around at their surroundings without the panic of falling while is feet were firmly planted again. The garden was pleasant with benches and picnic tables and he could imagine that it was a popular place for people to come up on nice days and eat their lunches. At night, they were high enough that they were away from most of the noise pollution and Wally could see a few stars twinkling overhead, breaking through the clouds which he hadn’t expected in a dreary place like Gotham. He liked it, he decided, when he was in the middle of the roof and not close to the sides. It was calming to be up and away from it all. 

“I understand it better than most,” Robin mumbled to break the silence and for the first time, Wally saw him not as Robin on some sort of pedestal, but as an actual kid. Robin was just someone like him; someone who wasn’t quite so fearless at all. “I wasn’t afraid of heights. And then suddenly I was. It took a lot of work, but I’m not anymore.”

“What are you afraid of now?” Probably a stupid question. There was no way Robin would admit something like that to a relative stranger.

There was a beat and then, “Not being able to catch people when they fall.”

“Figuratively or literally?”

“Either. Both.”

Wally wasn’t quite sure what to say. Before they had come, Barry had warned him not to be offended if Robin didn’t tell him anything personal about himself because of Batman’s firm rules on keeping their identities a secret, and he had been right. Robin was chatty and friendly, but definitely not forthcoming about himself in any way that could be considered informative about who he was behind the mask. This admittance though… it seemed real. Without saying anything specific, he was being more open and raw than he was probably allowed to be. Wally wanted to try and push that barrier and ask him for more details, but knew that was a terrible idea and instead he put a hand on Robin’s should and squeezed it lightly. Robin flinched at the unexpected contact, but nodded and relaxed into the touch.

“How did you get over it?”

“Practice. Every day, Batman took me up to the roof. The first time it was just to the door, but each time we took one more step further until we were on the ledge. It took a little more time before we could practice jumping and falling, but he was there beside me, holding my hand the entire time.” Robin’s voice was wistful at the memory and a few moments passed in silence while he thought about it. “It got easier,” he finally said with a smile, “and now I love it again. Flying. Jumping. Falling. All of it.”

There was a lot to think about there, but Wally’s mouth was ahead of his brain. “Batman held your hand?” Robin raised an eyebrow at the question and Wally shrugged in response. “Sorry, I just have a hard time picturing that. He doesn’t seem like that kind of guy.”

“He’s not Batman all the time, Wally,” said Robin. “When he’s not Batman, he’s still…”

“He’s your dad, isn’t he?”

Biting his lip, Robin cast his eyes down to the ground even though Wally couldn’t see them through the mask lenses. “You know I can’t say anything about that. But no. He’s not my dad.”

Wally sighed. Coming in, Robin had seemed like this mythic legend and more and more, he was seeming like an ordinary kid who just did extraordinary things. A kid that Wally wanted to be friends with even knowing that everything was being covered by secrets. “This isn’t exactly fair. I know you can’t tell, but you know everything about me. You read a freaking file about it. Can’t I know anything?”

“You can know that I want to help.” Robin shook himself, gave Wally a quick smile and went back to fiddling with one of the latches on his belt. Sharing time was over and he was back into Robin mode. “I have an idea. Do you trust me?”

“I guess.”

“Nothing too scary.” Robin held out his pinky. “I promise.” Wally paused, only for second, before he joined his pinky with Robin’s, locking his promise in place. Whatever he was going to do, it would be okay. Robin pulled a repelling line out of his belt secured it to the door, and then secured the other end firmly around Wally’s waist. He then pulled out a second line and attached himself to Wally in a similar way.

Wally touched the cord and noticed that while the line was thin, it was extremely strong. “What are you doing?”

“We are going to sit on the edge of the building and watch the city.” Wally opened his mouth to argue but Robin talked over him. “That static line is attaching you to the roof, so you are safe from falling off and nothing can happen. This dynamic line is attaching you to me, so if something _does_ happen against all odds to the first line and you somehow fall, I’ll fall with you and I can use my grapple to catch us.” He shook the hook that was connecting him to Wally. “Where you’re going, I’m going.”

“Alright but don’t blame me when it snaps and we both turn into pancakes.”

“Stop.” Robin snarled and that was all that was needed to effectively shut Wally up. “Don’t joke about that.” He was looking away again, but this time his voice was softer and cracked over the words and Wally could hear his breath become a little strained while he regrouped.

Well, now Wally just felt like an ass. He wasn’t trying to be funny, just honest about what was freaking him out, but he had clearly crossed some invisible line that he didn’t fully know was there. “Robin…” Wally fumbled with the best words to use. “Did you… lose someone like that?” Wally expected to be ignored but Robin nodded his head just enough to be recognized as agreement. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking. I should have guessed. I stick my foot in my mouth sometimes. I am though. Sorry.”

“Thanks,” whispered Robin, before checking the lines for a third time and tugging on the carabiner on Wally’s waist. “Come on.”

He was starting to sweat under his cowl and his entire body was trembling, but Wally was able to follow Robin to the ledge without turning to run away in panic. Robin sat down with ease, unbothered by the unnatural height but it was much harder for Wally to follow suit. Sitting was easy, he tried to tell his brain. He knew how to sit. Why was it suddenly more difficult to do it on a rooftop and why was his brain was fully convinced he was going to tumble over to his doom?

He didn’t fall though. He managed to settle somehow, fear still coursing through is veins, but soon his legs were swinging a little bit. He wasn’t comfortable but it wasn’t as bad as he was expecting. He wasn’t going to be running up or jumping off these buildings anytime soon, but it wasn’t so bad just sitting and watching with a friend, especially when he was tied to the roof.

That’s when he realised that it had happened; something that he had been hoping for since before he even knew it was a thing that was even possible. Robin was his friend. Sure, it was new and it was possibly one sided, but there was something there. A kindred spirit, even if he didn’t know anything personal. Robin was someone like him.

Friends.

“It’s nice up here,” said Wally once his heart rated started to slow down to a more natural level. He could appreciate it when he was secured to the roof and wasn’t afraid that he wasn’t going to topple over the edge. It was still definitely easier to look out than to look down, but it was peaceful, seeing the city from up high. The glow of the lights, the contrast of light and shadows. Gotham really wasn’t so bad; it could be bright and full of colour if you saw it from the right angle with the right company.

“This is one of my favourite rooftops,” Robin agreed looking down at the city below them. “It’s good for people watching. And the best food trucks park right over there.”

“Food trucks, you say?” That was enough to distract Wally from his fears even more and chance a look down. The world tilted a little bit sideways, but as he remembered the cord tethering him to the building, it righted itself again pretty quickly. There were two trucks parked on the street, with a space open for a third, with a line up of people ordering and then an assortment of benches and tables in a small courtyard nearby. It looked like a popular spot considering the late hour.

“They rotate on a schedule through the city. The Friday midnight shawarma truck here is _amazing_. They should be pulling up soon.” Wally’s stomach growled just at the mention of shawarma and both of them laughed. Robin dug into his belt and handed a package to Wally “Eat these to tide you over until they get here. The burger truck down there is good too, but I recommend waiting for the shawarma if you can.”

Wally examined the wrapper in his hand. “Jelly beans? Score.”

“Just don’t drop them over the edge.”

“I’d never waste a precious commodity like that.” Wally ripped open the package carefully pouring half out into his hand before handing the rest back to Robin. He popped a red bean into his mouth and let it melt. “Gotham’s pretty cool, you know? Scary, but cool. Like Batman.”

“Don’t let the scary act fool you. Batman’s a big softie under the rough exterior.” Robin paused and watched the people at the trucks below before pointing at something to get Wally’s attention. There were some kids, who definitely weren’t old enough to be out on their own at this time of night, playing a game of tag near the trucks. Wally was about to ask Dick if they were homeless when one of the truck’s side doors opened and someone passed out what looked like a tray of hotdogs that were quickly grabbed by each of them. Wally could just hear some quick yells of ‘thank you’ before the kids ran off, back into the night with their food in hand. “Maybe he is a little like Gotham that way too. Seems hard and mean at first, but there is a lot of good going on if you know what to look for.”

“You aren’t quite what I was expecting.”

“Thanks, I think.” Robin tore his eyes away from the action below and looked back to Wally. “I’m glad I’m not the only one anymore. Batman and the rest of the League are cool and all that, but it was lonely, being the only kid. We can be friends, which is awesome. Allies. Heroes. Bros.” Robin’s eyes widened behind the lenses and he giggled, “We can be herbros!”

“Herbros?”

“Yeah!” Robin held out his fist and Wally bumped it with his own and they both made identical exploding fists as their hands broke apart. “See? Herbros. Way better than just being heroes.” Something caught Robin’s eye below them again and he jumped up and Wally had the urge to grab onto him just to make sure he didn’t fall off the roof with the sudden action, but he held back and Robin came nowhere close to topping over the edge. “Shawarma’s here! Stairs or are you ready to try and repel down?”

Wally’s jaw dropped and he felt a little queasy just thinking about it. “You’ve got to be kidding me. You got me up here, but I’m definitely stair bound on the way back to solid ground.” Wally scrambled back from the ledge towards the middle of the roof, just in case Robin decided that he wasn’t really getting a choice in the matter. Robin just laughed, and disconnected Wally’s ropes so that he was free to take the stairs.

“Suit yourself. I’m taking the more direct route.” Robin pulled his grapple gun out of his belt and flashed a wicked grin. “Wanna race?”

Air versus ground. This was something more Wally’s speed. He cracked his knuckles and dropped into a sprinters start position theatrically. “Always. Prepare to lose, Boy Wonder.”

“Don’t tell your riddles before they’re plotted, KF.”

“What?” Was that a saying in Gotham?

“GO!” Robin jumped off the building, leaving Wally standing stunned on the roof before he beamed brightly and shot off towards the stairs, trying to beat the free falling Robin to the ground.

**Author's Note:**

> Fun fact – 272 is an actual police code for “Contributing to the delinquency of a minor” in California :)


End file.
